Indian envoy to Pak: Trial in Samjhauta Express case carried out in 'transparent' manner
New Delhi, Mar 20: The Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad on Thursday clearly conveyed to Pakistan that the trial into the 2007 Samjhauta Express terror case was carried out in a "transparent" manner, official sources said here.
The Indian High Commissioner was summoned by Pakistan's Foreign Ministry to lodge a strong protest against the acquittal of all four accused, including Swami Aseemanand, in the case.
Sixty-eight people, mostly Pakistanis, were killed in the attack.
The sources said the Indian envoy highlighted that the due process of law was followed by the Indian courts and judicial system in a transparent manner.
He also called out the lack of cooperation from Pakistan, including in serving court summons to Pakistani witnesses in the case, the sources said, adding the summons were returned by Pakistan foreign office.
A special court in Panchkula in Haryana acquitted Aseemanand and three others in the Samjhauta Express case.
The verdict came after NIA special judge Jagdeep Singh dismissed the plea filed by a Pakistani woman for examining eyewitnesses from her country, saying it was "devoid of any merit".
The Indian envoy also asked for expeditious trial in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case in which detailed evidence has been given to Pakistan, they said.
He expressed disappointment that progress in these trials is held up and the perpetrators and prime accused continue to roam freely in Pakistan, the sources said.
The envoy shared India's concerns at the lack of progress in investigations in the Pathankot terror attack even when a visit by a Pakistani team to India was arranged and detailed evidence in the case were shared, the sources said.
They said it was also pointed out that Pakistan is yet to take credible and irreversible steps against JeM and other terror entities as well as individuals, despite a detailed dossier being shared with Islamabad after the Pulwama attack.
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Jharkhand horror: Man kills live-in partner, chops body into 40 pieces
Ranchi (PTI): A 25-year-old man, who works as a butcher, allegedly strangled to death his live-in partner and chopped her body into 40 to 50 pieces in a forested area in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, police said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Naresh Bhengra, was arrested.
The matter came to light after around a fortnight after the killing when a stray dog was found with human body parts near Jordag village in Jariagarh police station on November 24.
Bhengra was in a live-in relationship with the deceased, a 24-year-old woman also from Khunti district, in Tamil Nadu for the past couple of years. Sometime back, he returned to Jharkhand, got married to another woman without telling his partner anything and went back to the southern state without his wife to join her.
"The brutal incident occurred on November 8 when they reached Khunti as the accused who had married another woman did not wish to take her home. Instead, he took her to a forest near his house at Jordag village in Jariagarh police station and chopped the body into pieces. The man has been arrested," Khunti Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar told PTI.
Inspector Ashok Singh who investigated the case said the man worked in a butcher shop in Tamil Nadu and was expert in slicing chicken.
“He admitted chopping the body parts of the woman into 40 to 50 pieces before leaving those in the forest for wild animals to feast on. The police recovered several parts on November 24 after a dog in the area was seen with a hand," Singh told PTI.
Singh said that the woman, who was unaware of his marriage, pressured him to return to Khunti. After reaching Ranchi, they boarded a train on November 24 and headed to the man's village.
"Under a plan, the man took her to Khunti in an autorickshaw near his home and asked her to wait. He returned with sharp weapons and strangulated her with her dupatta after raping her. He then cut the body into 40 to 50 pieces and left for his home to live with his wife," Singh said.
The woman, however, had informed her mother that she had boarded a train and would be living with her partner, the police officer said.
Following the recovery of body parts, a bag was also found in the forest with the murdered woman's belongings including her Aadhaar card. The mother of the woman was called at the spot and she identified her daughter's belongings.
"The mother suspected the man behind the crime who after being nabbed by the police admitted to chopping the woman into pieces," the official added.
The incident has sent shockwaves among people in the region, with the Shraddha Walker murder case of 2022 still fresh in their memory.
Walker was killed by her live-in partner who chopped her body into pieces before dumping them in the jungle in South Delhi’s Mehrauli.
